Icaraizinho.

About

Icaraizinho is the village of Icaraí de Amontada, one hundred and ninety kilometres north-west of Fortaleza on the long Ceará trade coast. The bay opens roughly to the north and runs six kilometres end to end. The reef and the Ponta da Almofala headland on the east side flatten the chop, which is why this fishing village turned into one of the world’s reference addresses for kitesurf. It is a wind address, not a surf one — the reef does not deliver a clean lineup, and what lifts here is the breeze.

The story is the trade. East to east-south-east wind blows fifteen to thirty knots, July through February, with September as the windiest month — the climatology says ninety-six percent of September hours score. Low tide drops the inside bay to flat water, ideal for beginners and freestyle sessions; high tide brings small chop on the outside reef for strapless and wave-riding practice. Outside the trade season (March–June) the bay falls quiet — that is the time to go elsewhere.

All levels by trade. Schools work the inside flat-water western half of the bay; advanced riders run downwinders east toward Moitas, picking up the sandbar peaks along the way. Real hazards are equatorial sun, the longshore current at low tide, and clipping the reef on the outer side at low water — read the tide before riding the eastern reef. Water is twenty-seven degrees year-round, so nothing on your back, nothing on your feet.